Attitudes Towards Older People and Managers' Intention to Hire Older ...

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Attitudes Towards Older People and Managers' Intention to Hire Older Workers: A Taiwanese Study a

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Luo Lu , Shu-Fang Kao & Ying-Hui Hsieh

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Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China b

Department of Applied Psychology, Hsuan Chuang University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China c

Department of Human Development, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China Available online: 01 Sep 2011

To cite this article: Luo Lu, Shu-Fang Kao & Ying-Hui Hsieh (2011): Attitudes Towards Older People and Managers' Intention to Hire Older Workers: A Taiwanese Study, Educational Gerontology, 37:10, 835-853 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2010.485007

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Educational Gerontology, 37: 835–853, 2011 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0360-1277 print=1521-0472 online DOI: 10.1080/03601277.2010.485007

ATTITUDES TOWARDS OLDER PEOPLE AND MANAGERS’ INTENTION TO HIRE OLDER WORKERS: A TAIWANESE STUDY

Luo Lu Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Shu-Fang Kao Department of Applied Psychology, Hsuan Chuang University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China

Ying-Hui Hsieh Department of Human Development, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China The aim of this research was to examine attitudinal barriers to the managerial intention to hire older workers (aged 60 and above). Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of managers with hiring power (N ¼ 305). We found that (a) positive attitudes towards older people in general, perceived subjective norm, personal experiences with older people, and traditional Chinese cultural values were all related to stronger intentions to hire older workers; (b) among competing structural models, the expanded model adding personal experiences to the theory of reasoned action emerged to be the best one accounting for This study was financed by a grant from the National Science Council, Taiwan, ROC, NSC97-2420-H-002-200-KF3. Address correspondence to Luo Lu, Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC. E-mail: luolu@ ntu.edu.tw

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hiring intention. The associations of positive attitudes and subjective norm with intention were found after controlling for demographics, organizational characteristics, cultural values, and personal contact experiences with older people. Our results highlight the importance and urgency of more concerted research to inform public and organizational policies to better promote and manage the careers of older workers in an ageing developing society.

According to the United Nation’s criterion, Taiwan is an aging society since 1993, as the proportion of those aged over 65 had exceeded 7% of the country’s population, and this proportion further reached 9.7% in 2005. This trend will exacerbate when the postcivil-war (1949) cohort enters old age in 2014. The official projected proportion of 65þ is 14.6% in 2018 and 20.6% in 2025 (Taiwan Census Bureau, 2006). The realities of a rapidly aging society make the employment circumstances of older workers an increasingly important social issue. While in the developed world measures to ensure equal opportunities for older employees have been introduced (Kluge & Krings, 2008), the issue of employment of older workers has largely been overlooked in Taiwan. This is partly attributable to the commonly held projection of old age in Chinese societies being a time of leisure and retreat into family life with grandchildren. Such images neglect the considerable prevalence of employment among older Taiwanese: 31.6% for those aged 60–64 and 7.6% for those aged 65þ in 2006 (Taiwan Census Bureau, 2006). A recent nationwide survey (Lu, 2010) found even higher percentages (41.5% and 26.5%) of those working over 60 (60–64 and 65–69, respectively). Discussions have recently commenced on whether to revise or abolish the statutory retirement age (65 for public sector workers) in the hope of injecting more human resources to tackle the worsening problem of labor supply shortage in Taiwan (Chou, 2006). To compliment the policy debate, we purport that individual-level psychosocial factors should be taken into account. After all, while abiding the laws, decisions are made by managers to hire older workers. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore some of these potential psychosocial factors that may affect the employment plight of older workers; specifically, these factors are managers’ general attitudes about older people and their perceived social pressure to hire older workers. Old age may be defined in many ways. For instance, 65 is the internationally adopted marker used by the United Nations, and 60–65 is the statutory retirement age in different countries. One nationwide survey in Taiwan revealed that Taiwanese people generally regarded

Intention to Hire Older Workers

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60 as the defining age of being old, not the official criterion of 65 (Lee, 1999). To better represent this culture-specific psychological reality, in the present study we defined ‘‘older workers’’ as those who were over 60 years of age. THE EMPLOYMENT HARDSHIP OF OLDER TAIWANESE WORKERS As stated earlier, for many in Taiwan, paid work is still an option in old age. For some, it is a matter of economic necessity—78.1% cited ‘‘maintaining personal and familial standard of living’’ as the most important reason for continued work into old age (Council of Labor Affairs, 1999, p. 22). For others, it may a life-style choice, especially those who are better educated and skilled. Continued employment in old age is beneficial for mental health (Christ et al., 2007); social integration (Ginn & Fast, 2006); and brain=cognitive functions (Fratiglioni, Paillard-Borg, & Winblad, 2004). For the society at large, working older people can help boost productivity and tax revenue, enrich the pool of human resources, and reduce public spending on entitlements needed to support early retirement. In sum, the realities of a rapidly aging society make the employment circumstances of older workers a pressing concern for individuals and society alike. However, Taiwan’s older workers are facing some serious challenges in employment, yet their plight has been largely neglected. Using official employment data, Y. S. Wu (2002) noted that older workers compared to younger workers in Taiwan suffered from higher unemployment rate, longer unemployment duration, and greater difficulties in finding jobs again. H. S. Wu (2006) further pointed out that the employment rate for Taiwanese workers aged 60–64 (33.49%) was generally lower than that of developed countries (e.g., 50.9% in the U.S.) and our East Asian neighbors (e.g., Japan: 54.7%; Korea: 53.6%). Both scholars highlighted industrial restructuring and low education attainment of the older workers as main factors constraining their opportunities for finding adequate employment in the computer era. Indeed, a recent multivariate analysis using data from a nationwide survey revealed that age, sex, personal health, spousal health, and family income were significant predictors of continued employment after age 50. Sex (female) and (lower) education were also significant risk factors of employment hardship for older workers (Lu, 2010). These results highlight the importance and urgency of more concerted research to inform public labor policies, especially in an aging developing society where older workers are

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faced with a double challenge of economic and societal restructuring. In addition to such macro-level phenomena, are there psychosocial barriers to the employment of older workers in Taiwan?


PSYCHOSOCIAL BARRIERS TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER WORKERS IN TAIWAN Although there has been very little empirical research on employment hardship of older workers in Taiwan, some scholars (H. S. Wu, 2006; Y. S. Wu, 2002) have speculated that structural factors—such as industrial restructuring and company downsizing, cutting overhead costs of pension and retirement entitlements—are potential obstacles for workers to obtain stable employment after age 50. Others (Lu, 2010; Su, 2007) have identified personal and familial factors—such as the female sex, the minimal education attainment or lower skill level, poor health, and sick family members—as risk factors for older workers slipping into unemployment or underemployment. Yet another set of potential environmental barriers have not been rigorously examined in the Taiwanese context. These are attitudinal factors such as negative expectations of the productivity of older workers, age-discriminatory stereotypes, and general negative attitudes towards older people held by managers—especially those gatekeepers with hiring power. For decades, research has shown that negative attitudes and stereotypes about older people in general (McTavish, 1971; Polizzi & Millikin, 2002)—and older employees in particular (Bird & Fischer, 1986; Lyon & Pollard, 1997; Rosen & Jerdee, 1976)—exist in the West. Moreover, studies demonstrated that discrimination against older employees was reflected in common human resources (HR) practices with respect to selection, promotion, compensation, and training (Kluge & Krings, 2008; McVittie, McKinlay, & Widdicombe, 2003; Perry, Kulik, & Bourhis, 1996). Consequently, older employees often feel discriminated against because of their age (Duncan, 2003; McVittie et al., 2003). Furthermore, the emergent new ageism is taking even more covert, ambiguous, and fluid forms (Duncan, 2003), and the promotion of the principle of equal opportunity in employment has not improved prospects for older workers in developed economies (McVittie et al., 2003). In Taiwan, being a rare exception in social gerontological research, a series of recent studies examined attitudes towards older people across a wide age range of the population (Lu & Kao, 2009, 2010; Lu, Kao, & Hsieh, 2010). Findings show that people of different



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age groups (from adolescents to adults) all possessed generally negative attitudes towards older people (Lu & Kao, 2009; Lu et al., 2010). Furthermore, these negative attitudes were positively associated with lowered intentions among students to take up careers involving serving=helping older people (Lu & Kao, 2010). Apparently, ageism in the form of negative stereotypes of older people is still prevalent in the Taiwanese society and may even have behavioral implications such as career choice. In the work context, a recent survey of Taiwanese managers (Cheng, 2007) revealed that the incongruence between older workers’ values and corporate culture was the utmost concern in managing older workers, followed by overhead concerns. Another study (Huang, 2007) further delineated managers’ negative perceptions of older workers’ job performanceincluding restriction of work location, poor health and physical strength, unwillingness to learn new knowledge and techniques, and low motivation for innovation and creation. It, thus, seems that ageism in the form of negative stereotypes of older employees is also prevalent in the Taiwanese work environment, notably among the gate-keeping managers. The question now is whether the general negative attitudes towards older workers held by managers actually lead to discriminatory intentions of rejecting older workers in employment decisions? This behavioral consequence can be understood through the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein; 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The debate on attitude-behavior (A-B) correspondence has invoked great interest among social scientists. The theory of reasoned action is an important attempt to specify this process. This model is based on the assumption that behavior is rational, and it incorporates several factors that have been shown to affect the consistency between attitude and behavior (DeLamater & Myers, 2007). According to the reasoned action model, behavior is determined by behavioral intention. Behavioral intention is primarily influenced by two factors: attitude and subjective norm. Attitude refers to positive or negative feelings about engaging in a behavior. Subjective norm is the individual’s perception of others’ beliefs about whether a behavior is appropriate or not. In other words, subjective norm is one form of situational constraint. Some studies have supported predictions made by this model (DeLamater & Myers, 2007), and these predictions apply better to behaviors that are under an individual’s control or nonhabitual (e.g., Liska, 1984; Schifter & Ajzen, 1985). Applying the reasoned action model to our current case, behavioral intention refers to the willingness to hire older workers; attitude refers to mangers’ general attitude towards older people; and subjective


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norm refers to the perception of others’ beliefs about whether the behavior (employing older workers) is appropriate or not. So far there are only two published studies looking at the link between attitudes towards older people and relevant behavioral intentions in Taiwan. Hsieh (1996) found that attitudes towards older people related to subsequent intention of counseling older adults among trainee counselors. Lu and Kao (2010) found that university students’ attitudes towards older people related to their future career choices to serve=work for older persons. However, both samples were students and no measures of situational constraints (subjective norm) were employed. We, thus, addressed this void by including both attitude and subjective norm in the study and by targeting a population of gate-keeping managers who have hiring power. We hypothesize: More positive attitudes towards older people are related to stronger intentions to hire older workers (Hypothesis 1); and Stronger perceived subjective norms are related to stronger intentions to hire older workers (Hypothesis 2). In Lu and Kao’s study (2010), two other factors were found to be correlates of Taiwanese students’ interactional intentions regarding older people: personal experiences and traditional Chinese values. The contact hypothesis is originally formulated as a technique to reduce intergroup conflict; it postulates that through increasing intergroup contact, the likelihood of intergroup conflict may be reduced (Amir, 1976). Applying this theory, the above mentioned findings can be understood: higher quality of personal experiences with older people in social contact fostered more positive attitudes that, in turn, enhanced behavioral intention in the form of career choice. Thus, we included personal experiences with older people in explaining behavioral intentions of managers in the present study. We hypothesize: More positive personal experiences with older people are related to stronger intentions to hire older workers (Hypothesis 3). The above study also found that traditional Chinese cultural values, such as filial piety, helped to explain students’ intentions to interact with older people in social context (Lu & Kao, 2010). Although extant empirical results depict a general negative image of old age and older people held by a wide range of Taiwanese people, a finer-grained analysis did reveal that some positive aspects of aging were acknowledged both by the older people themselves and by members of other age groups (Lu & Kao, 2009; Lu et al., 2010). Specifically, positive attitudes pertaining to psychological and cognitive aspects of aging, such as rich experiences, wisdom, and authoritative status, were attributed to older people. Specific to the work situation, older employees were also perceived by managers as more



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conscientious, committed, and experienced compared to their younger counterparts (Huang, 2007). We, thus, argue that traditional Chinese cultural values of respecting the old and accepting established social hierarchy may act as another situational constraint (social norm) that helps to strengthen status and prestige of older people (Lu & Chen, 2002). We, thus, included two traditional Chinese cultural values in explaining behavioral intentions of managers in the present study. We hypothesize: Stronger Chinese traditional values would be related to stronger intentions to hire older workers (Hypothesis 4). METHOD Samples & Procedures We used structured questionnaires to collect data. Potential participants were recruited through social networks and acquainted managers of various organizations all over the country. The inclusion criterion was that managers must have hiring power in personnel decisions as human resource managers, divisional managers, or project managers who had the discretion of choosing team members. A booklet containing cover letters, questionnaires, and a return envelope was sent to each contact person, who then distributed these materials to qualified participants and mailed completed questionnaires back to the researchers. A total of 305 usable questionnaires were received, achieving a response rate of 93.27%. The sample (N ¼ 305) consisted of 156 men and 149 women, with a mean age of 39.47 years (SD ¼ 8.38). The majority (77.8%) of our participants had above college education, with an average formal education of 16.17 years (SD ¼ 1.93). Most of them (67.2%) were middle-level managers, with an average tenure of 9.25 years (SD ¼ 7.57). The occupational profile of our sample is diverse, comprised of managers in manufacturing (37.7%), service sector (33%), commerce=trading (14%), culture=education (11%), health care (3.3%), and other occupations (1%). Comparing our sample characteristics to those of a recent national survey using stratified random sampling method (Taiwan Social Change Survey [TSCS], Lu, Kao, Chang, Wu, & Cooper, 2008), our sample was about the same age (TSCS: Mean ¼ 40, SD ¼ 10.94); but had more years of education (TSCS: Mean ¼ 12.70, SD ¼ 3.63); and slightly more seniority at work (TSCS: Mean ¼ 8.54, SD ¼ 8.97). While there are discrepancies between our sample and the

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representative national sample, our sample profile is distinct from that of university students.


Instruments Attitudes Towards Older People The Older People Scale ([OPS], Lu & Kao, 2009) is the first standardized scale developed specifically for the Chinese people to assess attitudes towards older people in general. The developers of the OPS used age 60 as the marker for older people in the stem of all items, which is consistent with our definition of older workers in the present study. Lu and Kao (2009, 2010) have provided evidence of the reliability and validity of the OPS. The 22-item brief version was used in this study. With ‘‘In general, older people (those who are over 60 years of age) are . . .’’ as the stem, four aspects of attitudes were assessed: Appearance and physical characteristics (5 items, e.g., ‘‘weak and illness-prone,’’ reversed score); Psychological and cognitive characteristics (7 items, e.g., ‘‘possessing problem-solving ability’’); Interpersonal relations and social participation (7 items, e.g., ‘‘disengaged from the society’’), and Work and economic safety (3 items, e.g., ‘‘financially poor,’’ reversed score). Though the content of the 22 items tapped diverse aspects, they converged on a single latent construct as shown in confirmatory factor analysis, supporting a one-factor solution (Lu & Kao, 2010). Exploratory factor analysis using data from the present sample also revealed that only one factor (Eigen value ¼ 8.31) could be extracted accounting for 67.48% of the total variance. All 22 items loaded on this single factor ranging from .43–.80. Thus, aggregation of scores was adopted as advised by the original developers of the scale. Each item in the OPS was rated on a seven-point scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 7 ¼ strongly agree). A higher aggregated score indicated more positive attitudes towards older people. In the present study, internal consistency alpha was .83 for the scale. Subjective Norm Four items were developed to assess participants’ perception about the social norm (encouraging the employment of older workers) and their willingness to conform. The following are these items: ‘‘Do you perceive that the government encourages the employment of older workers?’’ ‘‘Do you think that the employment of older workers should be encouraged?’’ ‘‘Are you willing to help the employment of older workers?’’ ‘‘Do you perceive that your



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organization encourages the employment of older workers?’’ Respondents checked with a forced-choice format (1 ¼ Yes, 0 ¼ No). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that only one factor (Eigen value ¼ 4.80) could be extracted, and it accounted for 59.66% of the total variance. All four items loaded on this single factor ranging from .69–.75. Thus, an aggregated score was used to indicate subjective norm regarding the employment of older people. In the present study, internal consistency alpha was .67 for the scale. Personal Experiences Three items were adopted to assess participants’ personal experiences with older people in general social contexts (Lu & Kao, 2010). Respondents were asked to rate the quality of their interaction with older people in family, community, and at work (1 ¼ Very Very poor, 10 ¼ Very good). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that only one factor (Eigen value ¼ 2.05) could be extracted, and it accounted for 65.64% of the total variance. All three items loaded on this single factor ranging from .78–.81. Thus, an aggregated score was used to indicate the quality of personal experiences with older people. In the present study, internal consistency alpha was .76 for the scale. Chinese Cultural Values The Social-oriented Self Scale ([SoSS], Lu, 2007) is the first standardized scale developed specifically for the Chinese people; it assesses the conceptualization of the traditional Chinese self. The social-oriented self derives from a belief in the individual’s connectedness and interdependence to others, and it emphasizes roles, statuses, positions, commitments, and responsibilities. The Confucius tradition strongly advocates the relational and social way of the self; it respects the social hierarchy (within which older people have a prestigious position) as the core of cultural values. Lu (2007; 2008; Lu, Kao, Chang, Wu, & Zhang, 2008) have provided evidence of the reliability and validity of the SoSS as a measure of traditional Chinese cultural values for both Taiwanese and mainland Chinese. The 14-item brief version was used in this study. Sample items are as follows: ‘‘We should treat people differently to reflect the different degree of intimacy.’’ ‘‘I always view people who are intimate to me as a part of myself.’’ Each item was rated on a six-point scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 6 ¼ strongly agree). A higher aggregated score indicated higher endorsement on this traditional Chinese value. In the present study, internal consistency alpha was .85 for the scale.


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Intention to Hire Older Workers Three items were developed to assess participants’ intention to hire older workers in daily work situations. These items were as follows: ‘‘If other things being equal, will you prioritize an older worker for hiring?’’ ‘‘Even though he=she is not the best available person, will you still prioritize an older worker for hiring?’’ ‘‘Will you prioritize an older worker as your team member?’’ (1 ¼ Very unwilling, 7 ¼ Very Very willing). The formality of these three items was the same as the one used in Lu and Kao’s (2010) study of students’ career intentions, which was shown attributable to their general attitudes towards older people. Using data from the present sample, exploratory factor analysis revealed that only one factor (Eigen value ¼ 3.01) could be extracted; it accounted for 75.34% of the total variance. All three items loaded on this single factor ranging from .86–.88. Thus, an aggregated score was used to indicate the behavioral intention of working with older people. In the present study, internal consistency alpha was .83 for the scale. Organizational Background As discussed by scholars and policy advisers in Taiwan (H. S. Wu, 2006; Y. S. Wu, 2002), some organizational features may facilitate or hinder the employment of older workers. Specifically, larger organizations (1 ¼ more than 250 employees, 0 ¼ fewer than 250 employees); higher quality of human capital (majority of employees had higher education: 1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no); and more older employees already in the workforce (1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no) were speculated to be conducive to the employment of older workers. These were used as control variables in the present study. RESULTS As a preliminary analysis, we checked the skewness and kurtosis of all variables. Skewness varied from .26 to .47, all within the 1 to þ1 range. Kurtosis varied from .95 to 2.52, traditional cultural values (2.52) being the only one outside the 1 to þ1 range. Overall, all variables except cultural values seemed to conform to the normal distribution. Before testing the four hypotheses, we computed Pearson correlations among main research variables. Table 1 reports correlation results along with scale means and standard deviations. Attitudes towards older people, subjective norm, personal experiences, and traditional values (social-oriented self) all significantly correlated

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1.00 .18 .07 .02 .02 .12 .11 .05 .28 .11 .31 .04 .01 = .49 .50

Sex

1.00 .07 .63 .18 .19 .12 .07 .01 .06 .13 .11 .11 = 39.47 8.54

Age

1.00 .12 .03 .14 .02 .38 .04 .16 .01 .05 .04 = 16.17 2.02

Edu (yrs.)

1.00 .13 .03 .07 .00 .12 .05 .06 .05 .04 = 9.25 7.63

Tenure

1.00 .08 .13 .03 .02 .28 .30 .15 .17 .73 6.60 1.56

PE

1.00 .14 .12 .22 .01 .10 .03 .02 = .24 .43

Orgsize

1.00 .14 .00 .06 .04 .06 .07 = 1.11 .35

Old

1.00 .08 .03 .05 .00 .01 = 2.70 .50

Hedu

1.00 .09 .06 .04 .05 = .62 .49

Occup

1.00 .14 .14 .16 .85 4.93 .58

SSelf

1.00 .23 .18 .83 4.44 .69

ATOP

1.00 .32 .67 .41 .32

SN

1.00 .83 3.07 1.17

Int

Notes. Sex: 0 ¼ M, 1 ¼ F; PE ¼ personal experiences with older people; OrgSize: 0 ¼ below 250, 1 ¼ above 250; Old ¼ majority of older employees: 1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no; Hedu ¼ majority of highly educated employees: 1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no; Occup: 0 ¼ manufacturing, 1 ¼ trading=service=education=medical care; SSelf ¼ social-oriented self; ATOP ¼ attitudes towards older people; SN ¼ subjective norm; Int ¼ intention to hire older workers. p < .05, p < .01, p < .001.

Sex Age Edu (yrs.) Tenure PE OrgSize Old Hedu Occup SSelf ATOP SN Int Cronbach’s alpha Scale mean SD

Variables

Table 1. Intercorrelations among main variables



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with the intention to hire older workers. All relations were in the expected direction. None of the demographic variables and organizational features correlated with the intention to hire older workers. As age and tenure had a high correlation (r ¼ .63), we used age only in subsequent regression analysis to avoid multicollinearity. We then conducted a series of hierarchical regression analyses to test our four hypotheses. In the first step of regression, we entered demographic and organizational variables of sex, age, education years, organizational size, majority of older employees, and majority of highly educated employees as control variables. this was done to partial out any potential effects they may have on behavioral intentions. Personal experiences with older people were also entered at this step, as they were part of the personal background. Second, we entered traditional values (social-oriented self) and attitudes towards older people, as both were generic attitudinal factors. At step three, we entered subjective norm. In so doing, hypotheses (H1, H2) derived from the reasoned action model were tested after possible contributions of demographics, organization features, experiences (H3), and values (H4) were all accounted for. The results reported in Table 2 show that personal experiences were the only background features related to the intention to hire older workers (Model 1). Traditional Chinese values (social-oriented self) were not related to the behavioral intention. Having controlled for effects of all the above factors, attitudes towards older people and subjective norm still had positive relations with the intention to hire older workers (Model 3). Thus, Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were supported. However, H4 was not supported. We proceeded with a comparison of possible theoretical models accounting for the intention to hire older workers, as implied in the previous literature review. AMOS 5.0 was used to test these structural models applying the Maximum Likelihood technique. The base model (Model 3) was specified containing only two paths—from attitude and subjective norm—leading to intention, as predicted by the theory of reasoned action. Two competing models were then specified, adding extra paths to the base model. Model 1 contained two extra paths leading from personal experiences and social-oriented self (as predicted by the Chinese cultural values) to intention. Model 2 contained the extra path leading from personal experiences to intention, as predicted by the contact hypothesis. We followed suggestions by Bentler (1990) and Raykov, Tomer and Nesselroade (1991) regarding criteria for evaluating SEM models. Specifically, the fitness indices (goodness of fit [GFI] and adjusted goodness of fit [AGFI]) should be in the


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Table 2. Hierarchical regression analysis predicting the intention to hire older workers Intention to hire older workers Model 1


Step 1

2 3

Predictors Sex Age Education yrs. Personal experiences Organization size Majority of older employees Majority of highly edu. employees Social-oriented self Attitudes towards older people Subjective norm Total R2 Final F(df)

Model 2

DR2

b

DR2

.04

.02 .09 .05 .15 .02 .05 .05

DR2

b .08 .09 .03 .07 .02 .06 .04 .12 .16

.04 .04

.15 1.57(7, 256)

Model 3

.02 2.32 (9,

254)

.04 .04 .07

B .07 .07 .02 .05 .01 .04 .04 .10 .16 .27 .31

4.15 (10,

253)

Notes. Sex: 0 ¼ M, 1 ¼ F; PE ¼ personal experiences with older people; organization size: 0 ¼ below 250, 1 ¼ above 250; majority of older employees: 1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no; majority of highly educated employees: 1 ¼ yes, 0 ¼ no. Standardized coefficients b and F are taken from the final equation. p < .05, p < .001.

upper .90s, and residuals (RMSEA) need to be small (